With dozens of restaurants opening, 2015 will be a banner year for Sacramento’s dining scene. From new restaurants by existing chefs to new locations for existing restaurants to first time efforts by up and coming chefs, 2015 has something new for everybody.

BTW: If I missed one that you know of, leave it in the comments or e-mail me at Darrel@CowtownEats.com.

1. Empress Tavern

The most anticipated restaurant is Empress Tavern, by the team that brought you Mother. Unlike Mother, Empress will be a “carvery” and serve sliced meats, rotisserie chicken, prime rib and seafood. As recently as late Nov. 2014, the owners said they would open by January. However, an Instagram photo posted over the weekend (if taken recently) seems to imply there’s still much work to be done. 1013 K Street, Sacramento.

3. Brasserie Capitale

Replacing the venerable Broiler at 12th & K, Brasserie Capitale will serve “simple, yet hearty French fare, with dishes like steak tartare, duck confit, bouillabaisse and cassoulet,” reported Sactown Mag in July. The restaurant will be owned by Aziz Belarbi-Salah, whose family also owns midtown’s Aioli Bodga Espanola and The Grand wine bar. The restaurant was originally scheduled to open in the summer, but was held up due to the usual permitting and construction snafus. 1201 K St., Sacramento.

4. Café a Cote

When The Broiler closed at 12th & K, so did its sister bar Gallagher’s. So when the aforementioned Brasserie Capitale opens, so will companion restaurant Café a Cote, which will serve coffee, pastries, bistro-style lunches and wine in the evenings. 1201 K St., Sacramento.

5. Fish Face

Fish Face is the first of two new concepts by my favorite Sacramento chef, Fish Face will be a casual sushi restaurant, with a focus on quick to go bites by Kru chef Billy Ngo. He told the Sac Bee in August that he expected the venue to be open by the end of 2014, but when I stopped by over the weekend, serious construction needs to be completed before the building and restaurant can be open. My guess would be spring or early summer. 1104 R Street, Sacramento.

6. Unnamed Sushi-Only Restaurant by Kru's Billy Ngo

The aforementioned Chef Billy is making several other moves, in addition to opening Fish Face. He is moving his current restaurant Kru to a new, larger spot and replacing his current restaurant with a sushi-only restaurant. At Kru, he’s hired San Francisco chef Ricky Yap to run Kru and he will concentrate on the new, high end ventures. Location TBD.

9. Amaro Bistro & Bar

This collaboration between the Shady Lady Team and Abe Cunningham of local alt metal band Deftones will feature Italian cuisine. Originally scheduled to open in Fall 2014, Amaro may not be open for a few more months, based on the unfinished construction I saw this weekend. The owners told The Bee that Amaro Bistro will feature 11 pasta dishes, eight pizzas and a price point of $10 to $12 for entrees. 1100 R St, Sacramento.

10. B-Side Bar

While the Monte Carlo has closed, the building will again be a dive bar called B-Side. The building is now owned by Bret Bair, who is part of the ownership group behind Ace of Spades and Goldfield Trading post, and the operations of the bar will be run by the group behind Shady Lady. Back in Nov. 2014, they said the bar to be reopened in February. However, when I drove by this weekend, there were no visible signs of ongoing renovations. 1430 S St, Sacramento.

11. Coin-Op Game Room

Replacing the recently-shuttered Marylin’s on K will be Coin-Op Game Room, a San Diego-based barcade. Here’s how they describe their San Diego location: “We are a neighborhood watering hole offering craft cocktails, craft beer, delicious food, and of course: classic arcade games.” The owners expect to open in March. 908 K Street, Sacramento.

14. Insight Coffee Roasters – 16 Powerhouse

Insight Coffee Roasters will open a fourth location – this one in the new 16 Powerhouse building at 16th & P. In September 2014, developers said they expected the retail tenants to move in by the end of 2014, but a visit over the weekend revealed that there’s still construction to be done. 1601 16th Street, Sacramento.

18. Pre-Flite Lounge

This dive bar favorite of hipsters across The Grid was forced to close when Downtown Plaza was razed to make way for the new Kings arena. Owner Jason Yee said he planned on reopening in December, but to nobody’s surprise, construction is taking longer than originally expected. Given the minimalist décor of the previous Pre-Flite Lounge, I expect this new location to be open within weeks. 1011 10th Street, Sacramento.

19. New Seafood Concept by Team Broderick

Chris Jarosz, part of the ownership group behind Team Broderick, let it slip in an interview with Comstocks Magazine that, “I want to do seafood really bad…Having a surf-and-turf-style restaurant that has some seafood that’s approachable for people but that also has a little flare is what it’s going to take. I have a concept that I would really like to roll out in the next year.” It’s unclear whether this means they’ll open a new restaurant or retool an existing space like Capital Dime. Location TBD.

23. Sail Inn & Grotto in West Sac, which will be managed by the Shady Lady Team, is expected to be the next project after the very busy Shady Lady crew have available bandwidth after working on Amaro and B-Side. 1522 Jefferson Blvd., West Sacramento.

26. Corner Bakery Cafe, a large bakery chain with 180+ locations including five in the Bay Area, opens its first Sacramento-area location in Natomas. The chain had started advertising for new staff on Craigslist at the end of October, and is expected to open soon. 2281 Del Paso Road, Sacramento.

28. Specialty Cafe and Bakery will open at Capitol Mall's Bank of the West Tower. When it opens in the spring, the cafe will serve saldads, sandwiches, baked goods and Peet's coffee. 500 Capitol Mall, Sacramento.

30. Liquidology, another smoothie and juice bar, opened this weekend in East Sac. It was originally scheduled to open in the Fall, but had to delay its opening due to construction issues. 4601 H Street, Sacramento.

31. Jackrabbit Brewing Company in West Sac had planned to open their tasting room in Fall 2014. However, they weren’t able to pull permits until early December 2014. I suspect they’ll be open in a couple months. In the meantime, you can still get your fill via growlers, bottles or kegs. 1315 Terminal Street, West Sacramento.

Also, thanks for the article Darrell. It's awesome. I went back and found the last article about the new Burgers and Brew and they say "work remodeling the site should begin by year’s end", so I guess they're not *too* far behind just yet, at least by the standards of pretty much any other restaurant/brewery in the area. http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/04/04/second-burgers-brew-coming-to-former-purgatory.html